Helmut von Microys

Helmut von Microys passed away on Thursday December 4th, 2025, in Ottawa, Ontario at the age of 91. He was born in Vienna, Austria on October 14th, 1934, to Alexander and Marie Luise (Grumeth) von Microys.

While attending the University of Toronto Helmut was a competitive fencer and a member of the Outing Club. He studied Civil Engineering and graduated with a BEng in 1963, a MA in 1967, and a PhD in Structural Engineering in 1972. He worked in various firms in Toronto, Calgary and Berlin during his career. While at university Helmut met and married Gisele (Michael) and they had two children.

He was an avid outdoorsman, his passions included climbing, hiking, kayaking, canoeing and cross-country skiing.

Although he climbed all around the world, he left an indelible mark on the landscape of Ontario, forging many routes and climbs on cliffs at Bon Echo and the Niagara Escarpment. One of his proudest moments, shortly after becoming a Canadian citizen, was leading a team to the peak of Mt. Ontario in 1967 as part of Canada’s 100th birthday celebration. His commitment to climbing also extended to climber safety and he worked on climbing gear and technique issues to reduce accident risk.

Many kayaking and canoeing trips were done while Helmut attended university, but some of his most meaningful trips of this kind were executed with his son, Robert, in Algonquin Park where they covered most of the park over the years.

His love of cross-country skiing had him travel the world participating in cross country skiing loppets, and he became a World Loppet Master, #16, attained on June 30, 1981, by completing all the loppets on the calendar at the time. He was often seen in the streets of Calgary on his road skis training for these races, making many of the neighbours wonder what this guy on weird road skis was up to.

Gisele, Helmut and their kids did many hiking trips while they lived in Calgary. After his retirement in 1994, Gisele and Helmut guided a number of tours through the European Alps.

A self-educated wine collector, Helmut loved drinking fine wine with great food. He once admitted that he didn’t really enjoy cooking but took cooking lessons so that he could create fantastic meals that paired with the wines he wanted to drink. To share his wine with his friends, Helmut and his children planned a number of elaborate dinners over the years, often recruiting their young friends as sous chefs to make the night a success.

House proud to a fault, Helmut spent a lot of his spare time fixing things in the many homes he and Gisele shared over the years. He renovated bathrooms and kitchens, insulated, and poured concrete floors. When he ran out of things to do in his own home, he spent time at his children’s homes building decks, tearing down walls, and running new pipes and wires. He even helped his artist daughter by making her mirror frames and her craft show booth walls.

Helmut was a problem solver and enjoyed finding solutions and helping people. He was knowledgeable and curious which made him both helpful at trivia games (except for the sports questions) and a lifelong learner. He had a way of making you feel interesting, and you always learned something you didn’t know when you spent time with him. He loved classical music, especially opera, along with books and art. He had a vocabulary that would put an English-as-first-language speaker to shame, and he won every game of ‘geography’ he ever

played. A characteristic that he found most embarrassing was his secret sentimentality, he always cried over Tiny Tim when he read A Christmas Carol out loud to his family at holiday time.

He was predeceased by his parents Alexander and Marie Luise von Microys; his brothers Wilhelm (Bill) Microys and Gottfried Microys; sister Liselotte Microys

He is survived by his wife Gisele, and their children: Rion (husband Richard Joules) and Robert (wife Susan Cose); his five grandchildren Connor, Matilda, Gavin, Agnes and Heidi (Mother Sherissa Microys); and his brother Friedrich Microys

In lieu of flowers or donations may we suggest honouring Helmut by having a great meal and enjoying a truly fancy bottle of wine while listening to your favourite piece of classical music and thinking of mountains.